This archive report was first published on 27 October 2019.
On October 23, 2019, a truck was discovered in an industrial park in Essex, east of London, containing the bodies of 39 migrants, including a 30-year-old Vietnamese man named Ha, who had been trying to reach Britain to earn money for his family.
Ha's family, from Yen Hoi village in Nghe An province, had been waiting anxiously for news of his arrival in England, but six days after he sent a message saying he was about to board a car to Britain, they have heard nothing.
"For sure he was in that lorry. I just want my son's body back home," Ha's father, Le Minh Tuan, told AFP, clutching his grandson and weeping.
Ha's wife and children are now left to face the uncertainty of his fate, and the family's fears are shared by many others in central Vietnam, where illegal migration to Europe is a common phenomenon.
Nghe An is one of the provinces that have been sending migrants to Europe, mostly young people who are eager to escape mundane village life and seek better opportunities abroad.
Among the suspected victims of the truck tragedy are a 19-year-old woman named Bui Thi Nhung, who frequently posted photos on Facebook from her journey to Europe, and a 20-year-old man named Nguyen Dinh Luong, who may have been seeking work in a UK nail bar.
Ha's story is a tragic reminder of the risks that migrants take in their quest for a better life, and the devastating consequences that can follow.
